Petri Pasanen

Petri Pasanen (born 24 September 1980) is a Finnish former professional football defender. He was most comfortable in central defense, but also played right back and left back as well. Pasanen began his senior career in his native Finland before moving to Ajax. He spent most of his career at Bundesliga club Werder Bremen which he represented in the UEFA Champions League in multiple seasons, and in the 2009 UEFA Cup Final.

Petri Pasanen

Pasanen with Red Bull Salzburg in July 2011
Personal information
Date of birth	(1980-09-24) 24 September 1980
Place of birth	Lahti, Finland
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s)	Defender
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996	FC Kuusysi	2	(0)
1996–2000	Lahti	72	(2)
1997	→ FC Hämeenlinna (loan)	4	(0)
1998	→ FC Hämeenlinna (loan)	1	(0)
2000–2004	Ajax	59	(7)
2004	→ Portsmouth (loan)	12	(0)
2004–2011	Werder Bremen	144	(3)
2011–2012	Red Bull Salzburg	18	(0)
2012–2014	AGF	44	(2)
2014–2015	Lahti	30	(1)
Total		386	(15)
National team
2000	Finland U21	6	(0)
2000–2013	Finland	76	(1)
Honours Finland national football team Runner-up Baltic Cup 2012 AFC Ajax Winner Eredivisie 2002 Winner KNVB Cup 2002 Winner Johan Cruijff Shield 2002 Runner-up Eredivisie 2003 Werder Bremen Runner-up Bundesliga 2006 Runner-up Bundesliga 2008 Runner-up UEFA Europa League 2009 Winner DFB-Pokal 2009 Runner-up DFB-Pokal 2010 FC Red Bull Salzburg Winner Austrian Bundesliga 2012 Winner Austrian Cup 2012
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

FC Lahti

Born Lahti, Finland, Pasanen became a regular for local club Lahti during the club's promotion season in 1998. During the next two seasons he made 42 appearances for the club in Finland's Veikkausliiga.

Ajax

Many of Europe's top clubs had become interested in the promising Pasanen, and in the summer of 2000 he joined Dutch club Ajax. He became a regular in the Ajax defense in his first season, but his progress was halted when he broke his foot in August 2001, and had to miss most of the 2001–02 season. Next season he was a regular again as Ajax reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

He fell out of favour at Ajax in 2003–04, and spent the second half of the season on loan at English club Portsmouth in the Premier League. Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp was interested in purchasing Pasanen at the end of the season, but claimed Ajax's asking price was too high.

Werder Bremen

Pasanen was then signed by reigning German champions Werder Bremen in the summer of 2004. He became a key player for the club, helping them to a top three finish in the Bundesliga and the second round of the Champions League in each of his first two seasons at the club. Whilst at Bremen he played in the 2009 UEFA Cup Final.

Red Bull Salzburg

On 30 June 2011, after the end of his contract, he left Werder Bremen,[1] and signed for Red Bull Salzburg. On 12 May 2012, Salzburg announced that they would not renew Pasanen's contract and he would be free to look for a new club during the summer.[2]

AGF Aarhus

On 28 July 2012, Pasanen signed a two-year contract with Danish topflight side AGF. He scored his first goal for AGF on 10 December 2012, in a 3−3 home draw against Silkeborg.

Return to Lahti

In May 2014, FC Lahti announced that Pasanen would return to Lahti and that he had signed a contract until the end of the 2016 season.[3] On 29 September 2015, Pasanen announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of the season.[4]

International career

Pasanen was also a regular for the Finland national team. He made his international debut on 15 November 2000 against the Republic of Ireland. Pasanen has mostly played at right back for Finland, and has also served as the national team's captain, when Sami Hyypiä and Jari Litmanen have not played. He scored his only goal on 22 May 2002 in a home friendly at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium against Latvia, which Finland won 2–1.[5]

Pasanen has also played in Finland national futsal team, where he has six caps and two goals.

Career statistics

Club

Sources:[6][7]

Club	Season	League		Domestic Cups		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Kuusysi	1996	Ykkönen	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
FC Hämeenlinna	1997	Ykkönen	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
	1998	Ykkönen	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	Total		5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Lahti	1997	Ykkönen	15	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	1998	Ykkönen	15	1	0	0	0	0	15	1
	1999	Veikkausliiga	27	0	0	0	0	0	27	0
	2000	Veikkausliiga	15	1	0	0	0	0	15	1
	Total		72	2	0	0	0	0	72	2
Ajax	2000–01	Eredivisie	29	4	0	0	0	0	29	4
	2001–02	Eredivisie	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2002–03	Eredivisie	22	3	0	0	0	0	22	3
	2003–04	Eredivisie	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	Total		59	7	0	0	0	0	59	7
Portsmouth	2003–04	Premier League	12	0	0	0	0	0	12	0
Werder Bremen	2004–05	Bundesliga	23	1	0	0	0	0	23	1
	2005–06	Bundesliga	17	0	0	0	5	0	23	0
	2006–07	Bundesliga	17	0	0	0	2	0	19	0
	2007–08	Bundesliga	28	2	0	0	8	0	36	2
	2008–09	Bundesliga	16	0	0	0	5	0	21	0
	2009–10	Bundesliga	19	0	4	1	10	0	33	1
	2010–11	Bundesliga	24	0	1	0	7	0	32	0
	Total		144	3	5	1	37	0	186	4
Red Bull Salzburg	2011–12	Austrian Bundesliga	18	0	3	0	11	0	32	0
Aarhus	2012–13	Superliga	23	1	1	0	0	0	24	1
	2013–14	Superliga	21	1	0	0	0	0	21	1
	Total		44	2	1	0	0	0	45	2
Lahti	2014	Veikkausliiga	11	1	1	0	0	0	12	1
	2015	Veikkausliiga	19	0	5	0	2	0	26	0
	Total		30	1	6	0	2	0	38	1
Career total			386	15	15	1	50	0	451	16

International

Source:[8]

Finland national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2000	1	0
2001	5	0
2002	5	1
2003	6	0
2004	8	0
2005	3	0
2006	7	0
2007	10	0
2008	3	0
2009	9	0
2010	5	0
2011	5	0
2012	3	0
2013	6	0
Total	76	1

International goals

Score and Result lists Finland's goals first

#	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	22 May 2002	Helsingin olympiastadion, Helsinki, Finland	Latvia	2–1	2–1	Friendly

Honours

Club

Ajax[6]

• Eredivisie: 2001–02
• KNVB Cup: 2001–02
• Johan Cruijff Shield: 2002

Werder Bremen[6]

• DFB Ligapokal: 2006
• DFB-Pokal: 2008–09
• UEFA Cup Runner-up: 2008–09

Red Bull Salzburg[6]

• Austrian Bundesliga: 2011–12
• Austrian Cup: 2011–12

Individual

• 2008: Finnish Sports Journalists footballer of the year[9]

References

1. "Pasanen verlässt Werder Bremen" (in German). sueddeutsche.de. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
2. "Maajoukkuepakki sai seurastaan lähtöpassit" [Finnish international not given a contract renewal] (in Finnish). 12 May 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
3. "Petri Pasanen palaa FC Lahden paitaan" (in Finnish). FC Lahti. 24 May 2014. Archived from the original on 22 December 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
4. "Petri Pasanen lopettaa uransa kauden jälkeen" (in Finnish). Veikkausliiga. 29 September 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
5. "Finns hold their nerve". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 22 May 2002. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
6. "P. Pasanen". Soccerway. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
7. Petri Pasanen at National-Football-Teams.com
8. "Pasanen Petri" (in Finnish). palloliitto.fi. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
9. "Petri Pasanen palaa FC Lahteen" (in Finnish). Palloliitto. 27 May 2014. Archived from the original on 28 May 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.

External links

• Petri Pasanen – UEFA competition record
• Petri Pasanen – FIFA competition record
• Petri Pasanen at Soccerbase
• Petri Pasanen at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Petri Pasanen at ESPN FC